Sri Lanka promotion at Washington National Zoo
Lecture on "The Conservation of Asian Elephants in
Sri Lanka and Beyond":
US: The Sri Lanka Promotion at the Washington National Zoo got off to
an auspicious start with a lecture on "The Conservation of Asian
Elephants in Sri Lanka and Beyond," at the Washington National Zoo on
November 16.
It was the first event of the cultural and educational programme
organized by the Sri Lanka Embassy under the "Enrichment of Arts and
Culture" section of the 'Mahinda Chintana', in collaboration with the
Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ)
in Washington D.C., states a press release issued by the Embassy of Sri
Lanka in Washington D.C.
The lecture at the Washington National Zoo auditorium was preceded by
a reception hosted by Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke, attended by
around 200 guests, who braved inclement weather to listen to the
lecture.
The speakers sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution were Director
General of Sri Lanka's Department of Wildlife Conservation Dr. Dayananda
Kariyawasam and Chair and Research Scientist of the Sri Lanka Centre for
Conservation and Research Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando.
At the inception, the Associate Director of Science at the
Smithsonian National Zoo, Dr. Steve Monfort spoke of the National Zoo's
commitment to elephant conservation efforts in Sri Lanka since the
1960s. Thereafter, Dr. Monfort introduced Ambassador Goonetilleke to the
audience.
Ambassador Goonetilleke spoke of Sri Lanka's long association with
the elephant. He said, "In 1969 a Sri Lankan journalist had this to say
of our symbiotic relationship, "There is no animal, which has meant so
much to the people of this country than that king of our forests, the
elephant. Our association with it is as old as our history and a study
of elephants has been a part of our culture.
These versatile animals served us in war, helped in the construction
of the great temples and reservoirs and graced every religious
ceremony."
The Ambassador then focused on the man-elephant conflict currently
existing in Sri Lanka, which was also the topic of presentation for both
Dr. Kariyawasam and Dr. Fernando. As the Ambassador said, "The
Department of Wildlife Conservation is in the forefront of managing this
challenge.
Equally, mitigation of the human-elephant conflict is high on the
list of priorities of the Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri
Lanka."
Dr. Kariyawasam said that Sri Lanka's national policy on wildlife
conservation had lacked consistency and detail all these years, but was
now invigorated by Government's commitment to wild elephant
conservation.
Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando provided thought-provoking information on
the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka and the impact of research on
the subject.
Their individual comments during the presentations and during the
question and answer session that followed indicated their indepth
knowledge on the subject, which appeared to deeply impress the audience.
The lecture was a prelude to the Sri Lanka Promotion and the
celebration of baby elephant 'Kandula' held at the National Zoo on
November 19.
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